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Emergency training scheme for nurses in remote Scottish areas

Nurses and other health professionals in rural areas of Scotland are to gain access to a wider range of emergency training, thanks to a scheme drawing on developments in remote learning technology.

The new scheme will also double the amount of training days available to health professionals, according to those behind the Portfolio Project.

“Every remote and rural health nurse who wishes will have access to a locally delivered training programme”

Colville Laird

Training will start from April and will cover a broad range of pre-hospital emergency medicine skills including trauma management, cardiac and neonatal resuscitation, paediatric emergencies, and obstetric emergencies, as well as skills for dealing with deteriorating patients.

They said participants would be able to identify their own learning needs, which will be used to create bespoke training programmes designed to support individual health boards and localities.

“This is a really exciting project that will see BASICS Scotland join us on many of our visits to host locations”

Andrea Baker

They said the Portfolio team would draw on the latest developments in remote learning, including video conferencing and social media.

It was also looking at the potential of incorporating video gaming technology to create interactive resources to meet future training needs, they said.

However, they highlighted that the remote training would be “coupled” with on-site learning. This will be delivered with the support of NHS Education for Scotland’s (NES) mobile clinical skills unit and the Scottish Multi-professional Maternity Development Programme.

Professor Colville Laird, medical director at BASICS Scotland, said: “If this project meets our expectations every remote and rural health nurse, paramedic and doctor who wishes will have access to a locally delivered training programme supported by high quality remote learning materials, thus providing the ultimate in cost-efficient and time efficient training.”

Dr Gill Clarke, medical lead at the Scottish Rural Medicine Collaborative, said: “The BASICS Scotland team intend to apply blended training opportunities, based on previous research of what works, to help local professionals become more involved in training their own teams and to improve the confidence and skills of rural practitioners”

“The BASICS Scotland team intend to improve the confidence and skills of rural practitioners”

Gill Clarke

Andrea Baker, manager of NES’ Clinical Skills Managed Educational Network, said: “This is a really exciting project that will see BASICS Scotland join us on many of our visits to host locations.

“There, they will use the mobile skills unit to deliver additional three-day training programmes that will be tailored to the venues’ requirements,” she said.

BASICS Scotland is an independent charity providing courses in remote and rural areas in Scotland for health professionals working in surgeries or local hospitals.

Its courses are attended by GPs, nurses and paramedics and use a mixture of skill stations and simulations to provide realistic experience of the techniques used in the pre-hospital setting.

NHS England has pledged that health professionals will receive the digital tools they need in a bid to make digitally-enabled care “mainstream” across the country, especially those working in community settings, as part of its 10-year plan.

Comprehensive same-day care for the seriously ill and walking wounded will soon be available at most major accident and emergency departments, under moves designed to ease pressure on England’s struggling hospitals.

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